Imagine with me for a moment that you are 9 or 10 year old boy. You make certain absolutely no one is around you. Now envision yourself as a world famous samurai/super-hero and the broom you wield is actually a flaming instrument of death. Everything is going great for a while. I was slashing at unseen villains and killing enemies left and right. Until the ... accident. As I twirled and stabbed, a small ceramic figurine had the nerve to leap out from its perch on the shelf and face me! It brazenly leaped in front of my flaming instrument of death! What was I to do!? Well, as you can imagine I had to stab this foe! Alas, its tiny ceramic head flew off. Uh oh. This foe was no moe. I stood there suddenly transformed back into a child with a broom. I thought the magic had ended. But no! The magic continued! Out of nowhere, shrouded in a dark mist...there appeared....my mother. She had a gift for materializing when least expected. I’m pretty sure Star Trek got the idea of “beaming” people around from her. I didn’t even have a few minutes to work out my infallible “the cat did it” defense. No time to strategize on which sibling to blame. Poof there she was. There were loud angry words at that point, and there was a wooden spoon involved after that. It all gets very messy but suffice it to say, the flaming instrument of death was retired. (Until several years later, when I was challenged to a mortal duel by a tooth residing in my brother’s mouth. The tooth lost of course....but that’s a story for another day.)
Let me be abundantly clear about something. Most all the discipline I received as a child was well deserved. You see it was 99.99% my fault that I needed to be reprimanded over and over and over and over and over...etc. As I child I never enjoyed discipline. I certainly didn’t welcome it. In fact I avoided it like the plague. I never failed to use whatever deceit or guile I could dream up to get myself out of trouble. (It seldom worked)
The truth is, in retrospect, I am truly thankful for the discipline and protection that was afforded to me! Were it not for those tough days of rebelling, and paying the consequence for that rebellion, I never would have understood the beautiful, precious gift of grace in which I now rest! Did it sting when my parents rebuked me? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes.
Ponder something with me for a moment. We all pay the consequences for our actions. We all need to deal with the fruit that is birthed from the seeds we’ve sewn. Every one of us understands what it means to have to lie in the bed we’ve made, so to speak.
Is God able to spare us from the consequences of our actions? Certainly He is, and yet many times we see throughout scripture that He allows us to “face the music” or the noise that we have caused. In fact sometimes, when there aren’t visible consequences, He brings in the noise Himself! Why? Among other reasons, so that we can learn from our mistakes. There is no greater lesson, no clearer instruction; on what behavior we shouldn’t repeat, than paying the consequences of our action.
In the same way my parent’s discipline and correction was a form of love and protection, so is God’s. "FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." (Hebrews 12:6). Look at this wording! “...He scourges!” God gets rough with His discipline. He doesn’t mess around. The term scourging indicates an object being used. (Much like a wooden spoon!) To reiterate, there is no question that no one likes getting a scourging, but it is in fact, useful in keeping us from doing foolish things again. If we had not done it in the first place, we would not have received a scourging. In actual fact, a quick and patient spanking can change our little one’s attitude from haughty to humble in seconds. We can put the little guy in the corner all we want; it will not have the same effect. This is a biblical principle whose purpose is to keep a child safe from him or herself. The principle continues into adulthood.
My mother, once said, in respect to disciplining your children, you can either cry a little today or a whole lot tomorrow. Truer words were never spoken.
And here is the clincher. Parents can make mistakes. We can often overreact, or lose our patience, or face the temptation of reprimanding in anger and frustration but God does not. No, His discipline is always righteous, and just. His discipline is perfect and full of love and grace.
When I was a child, discipline made me angry. A spanking from dad made me angry. My mom with her ninja reflexes made me angry. To this day I see a wooden spoon and I smolder a little. My mom’s reflexes are so good, the moment a fly enters the room a flaming pink fly-swatter materializes in her hand. Will someone please call Steven Spielberg…this woman is amazing! This tiny little woman will stalk that fly like a sleek, vicious, and slightly plump cougar …till…. Splat! Dead fly. Did it ever even see the blazing pink blur that lead to its demise? I think not. I mean that is punishment to be feared folks.
Friends … we need not fear correction from God. He is a gracious loving father. He is able to chastise and correct and discipline without ever once forgetting his unconditional love for us. I welcome his discipline. I require it! I need him to chip away with a chisel and hammer all that is not a part of His plan for me! I have full confidence that my Jesus is not trying to crush me! He’s trying to form me into His own image!
Sit down for this last part. Will you pray with me today and invite God to discipline us? That’s right. You read correctly. Can we join together and ask God to remove from us whatever needs to be removed even when it stings? Remember, God’s method of correction is far more gracious and merciful then anything we can dole out. Isn’t that awesome? His rebuke will always come to us in love! He’ll never, without a shadow of a doubt, come at you like a giant pink flyswatter! (Unless you’re a fly)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
algorithm of the spirit
by Pastor Jim Rovaggi
I apologize that I was unable to get my blog posted for a while. Thank you, to those of you who encouraged me with your impatience. So here is a tiny part of what’s been floating around in my thoughts lately.
Life is complicated. Deep huh? I imagine anyone older than nine years old fully agrees with me. In fact, the older we get the complicated-er life seems to become. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to shout at God. Do you ever feel like that? Have you ever just been tired enough, or frustrated enough, or angry enough to say “Why Me!?”, “It’s not fair!”, “Why are my days so complicated?!”
Even my, now famous, two year old has bad days. Let me describe a typical day in the life of my precious bundle of joy. He woke up crabby and flushed with fever from the molars coming up in his mouth. So already I knew it was going to be a complicated day. He decided that instead of sitting in his child-size rocking chair he would stand on it surfer style. Inevitably he came crashing down. I scooped him up as he wept pitifully to comfort him, and as I walked around I smelled something, um, odd. By now he had calmed down somewhat, right up until I hefted him up to get a better whiff and bonked his head on the low beam crossing the ceiling. Again the weeping commenced with renewed vigor. He finally quieted down enough for me to release him. In no time at all he was back to his normal self. Meaning he went back to surfing on the rocker. When that got old, he munched on several house plants till I spotted him. I gave chase, he ran away (dirt spilling from his mouth), he crashed over his gigantic 2 foot high Curious George…. and so the dance went on for the entire day. Happy, sad, mad, content, angry, giddy with joy and so on.
How does that compare to my own thirty-something life? Well, from birth we know life has its’ ups and downs and Christianity is no different. When we came to know the Lord we weren’t given the keys to immediate joy and perfection.
Matthew 5:45 says: “….that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” There will be good things and bad things that come our way. No we weren’t given the keys to euphoria, but we were given the algorithm to live in peace and joy.
Here is how Wikipedia describes an algorithm: In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related subjects, an algorithm is a finite sequence of instructions, an explicit, step-by-step procedure for solving a problem, often used for calculation and data processing. It is formally a type of effective method in which a list of well-defined instructions for completing a task is utilized.
Algorithms are complicated, just like the Christian walk ….Do you recall calculus or algebra? A single problem that needed to be worked out consisted of multiple steps. One equation could cover several sheets of paper. I would get my equations so convoluted I could no longer follow my own reasoning! I would never have the patience to be a good mathematician! It’s a good thing I’m not a rocket scientist. I guess many of you knew that. In these long linear algebraic problems if you got any of the initial steps wrong, your final equation would be off. Solving those kinds of problems requires diligence and focus and concentration. Just like the Christian walk.
I know it can be infuriating when a well meaning brother or sister tells us to just “hang in there”. But the truth is that is Godly advice. James 1:2-6 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work (or its equation) so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
So today I’m asking that we look at our complications the way the apostle James would. We can choose to ask questions in frustration. (And they may be very valid questions.) Lord, why can’t I just have what I want?! Why shouldn’t I have a bigger house or a nicer car? Why am I blind? Why am I handicapped? Why am I sick? Why can’t I have children? Why am I alone? And so on. I’m asking that instead, we would ask of God what can I learn from this? In what way can I use my frustrations to bless the kingdom? What experiences, what knowledge can I use to bless someone else going through similar or worse situations?
You‘ve heard the term, “don’t be bitter be better”. That’s what a Christian’s perspective should be.
So sit back. Relax. Let the peace and wisdom of God lead you today, and if you should happen to see my son chewing on a plant let me know.
God Bless You and may He make us blessable.
Pastor Jimmy E. Rovaggi
Associate Pastor
West Hudson Christian Center
557 Kearny Avenue Kearny, NJ 07032
p 201-997-7762
c-973-600-8544
I apologize that I was unable to get my blog posted for a while. Thank you, to those of you who encouraged me with your impatience. So here is a tiny part of what’s been floating around in my thoughts lately.
Life is complicated. Deep huh? I imagine anyone older than nine years old fully agrees with me. In fact, the older we get the complicated-er life seems to become. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to shout at God. Do you ever feel like that? Have you ever just been tired enough, or frustrated enough, or angry enough to say “Why Me!?”, “It’s not fair!”, “Why are my days so complicated?!”
Even my, now famous, two year old has bad days. Let me describe a typical day in the life of my precious bundle of joy. He woke up crabby and flushed with fever from the molars coming up in his mouth. So already I knew it was going to be a complicated day. He decided that instead of sitting in his child-size rocking chair he would stand on it surfer style. Inevitably he came crashing down. I scooped him up as he wept pitifully to comfort him, and as I walked around I smelled something, um, odd. By now he had calmed down somewhat, right up until I hefted him up to get a better whiff and bonked his head on the low beam crossing the ceiling. Again the weeping commenced with renewed vigor. He finally quieted down enough for me to release him. In no time at all he was back to his normal self. Meaning he went back to surfing on the rocker. When that got old, he munched on several house plants till I spotted him. I gave chase, he ran away (dirt spilling from his mouth), he crashed over his gigantic 2 foot high Curious George…. and so the dance went on for the entire day. Happy, sad, mad, content, angry, giddy with joy and so on.
How does that compare to my own thirty-something life? Well, from birth we know life has its’ ups and downs and Christianity is no different. When we came to know the Lord we weren’t given the keys to immediate joy and perfection.
Matthew 5:45 says: “….that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” There will be good things and bad things that come our way. No we weren’t given the keys to euphoria, but we were given the algorithm to live in peace and joy.
Here is how Wikipedia describes an algorithm: In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related subjects, an algorithm is a finite sequence of instructions, an explicit, step-by-step procedure for solving a problem, often used for calculation and data processing. It is formally a type of effective method in which a list of well-defined instructions for completing a task is utilized.
Algorithms are complicated, just like the Christian walk ….Do you recall calculus or algebra? A single problem that needed to be worked out consisted of multiple steps. One equation could cover several sheets of paper. I would get my equations so convoluted I could no longer follow my own reasoning! I would never have the patience to be a good mathematician! It’s a good thing I’m not a rocket scientist. I guess many of you knew that. In these long linear algebraic problems if you got any of the initial steps wrong, your final equation would be off. Solving those kinds of problems requires diligence and focus and concentration. Just like the Christian walk.
I know it can be infuriating when a well meaning brother or sister tells us to just “hang in there”. But the truth is that is Godly advice. James 1:2-6 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work (or its equation) so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
So today I’m asking that we look at our complications the way the apostle James would. We can choose to ask questions in frustration. (And they may be very valid questions.) Lord, why can’t I just have what I want?! Why shouldn’t I have a bigger house or a nicer car? Why am I blind? Why am I handicapped? Why am I sick? Why can’t I have children? Why am I alone? And so on. I’m asking that instead, we would ask of God what can I learn from this? In what way can I use my frustrations to bless the kingdom? What experiences, what knowledge can I use to bless someone else going through similar or worse situations?
You‘ve heard the term, “don’t be bitter be better”. That’s what a Christian’s perspective should be.
So sit back. Relax. Let the peace and wisdom of God lead you today, and if you should happen to see my son chewing on a plant let me know.
God Bless You and may He make us blessable.
Pastor Jimmy E. Rovaggi
Associate Pastor
West Hudson Christian Center
557 Kearny Avenue Kearny, NJ 07032
p 201-997-7762
c-973-600-8544
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